


la petite mort

by cloudedhues



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Eventual Smut, F/M, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 14:45:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4526085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudedhues/pseuds/cloudedhues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The French in their literature coined the peak and steady plateau of pleasure as “la petite mort” – or the little death. He found it a bit amusing now as he held her in the aftermath, skin sticking together, their breaths in tune with the rising and falling of their chests, how fitting it was that she’d killed him just enough to remind him how painful and beautiful it was to be alive.</p><p>or — Kou and Akane have a one night stand that inexplicably lasts for more than one night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	la petite mort

**Author's Note:**

> Originally for Day 4 of #shinkaneweek from Tumblr. Accompanying cover set by my lovely twin found [here](http://ahkanes.tumblr.com/post/125991569962/shinkane-week-day-4-virtues-or-vices-the).

Akane took another swig, swallowing the awful taste of alcohol as she slammed her shot glass down in triumph.

“Looks like I won again.”

“I can’t believe this. This is the third time,” Shuusei groaned, head laying on the dining table in defeat.

“It’s not my fault you’re useless at holding your liquor.”

He gave another groan and she giggled at his sour expression.

“How much have you had?”

“Only three.”

“Only? You’re awfully eager to drink tonight.”

Her face darkened just a bit. “I’m not eager.”

“Bullshit. You’re going to run me dry at this rate,” he grumbled. “Anyway, how come you’re not shit-faced like I am yet?”

“Obviously I have superior abilities you could never hope to understand.”

“The hell you do – ” he griped but was interrupted from a tirade of impassioned complaints by the firm knocks on his door.

Akane whispered, “They’re coming for you now, Shu. That’s what you get for being so whiny and loud.”

“Dorms are soundproof from the inside, babe,” he sniped, feet dragging as he answered the door. “And there’s only one person in this entire building who still bothers to knock instead of using the comm.”

True to his word, Kougami stood by the doorway, hand caught midway in the air as he took in Shuusei’s disheveled state and the smell of alcohol on his shirt.

“Maybe I should come back at a better time,” he conceded with an eyebrow raise.

“No, it’s fine. I’m only mostly drunk.” Shuusei scratched the back of his head and motioned for him to enter. “Come in, come in. What’s up?”

Kougami handed him a folder and was about to say something regarding the new case introduced from earlier this afternoon but stopped when he realized they were not the only two in the room.

“Tsunemori.“ He took a beat, unreadable expression on his face as he looked at her. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Oh. Hi,” she ventured cautiously, temporary sobriety returned at his presence. “What brings you here?”

For a moment, he looked as if he was about to ask her the same question but was interrupted by Shuusei who had apparently not even gotten past the first page in his state.

“Man, I’m wrecked. Can’t even make out a single sentence of this. You’re gonna have to read some of it for me,” he said, apologetic as he handed back the folder. Kougami took it without a word as he sat down two dining chairs away from Akane’s.

“Anyway before we start on that, you need a drink?”

“I’m all right,” he said with reluctant amusement. “I take it this is a regular thing with you two?”

“If by regular thing you mean she loiters here to steal food and alcohol from me, then yes.”

Akane glared from her spot at the table, looking more comical than threatening with her puffed cheeks. She glanced around for a clock, no longer up for more excitement tonight.

“What time is it? I should probably get going.”

“It’s only 10PM,” Shuusei answered as he watched Kougami flip through the papers. “What are you – a kid?”

“A kid with better alcohol tolerance than you, it seems,” she snarked, regretting the bite the second it came out of her mouth. But either Shuusei didn’t care or was too drunk to make mention of her snippiness because instead, he tutted, feigning hurt with a shake of his head. It was in the exact way of her grandmother when talking about something she disapproved of and at that, Akane’s humor returned even if just for a little.

“No gratefulness from the youth these days,” he sighed. “And here I was intending to be nice by letting you stay over the night.”

“Your couch isn’t exactly the best place to pass out on.”

“Well, you know you’re always welcome to my bed.” He wagged his eyebrows, all affectation gone and flirtation back again.

In the beginning stages of their friendship, Akane was unsure how she should receive his advances. It was only as time progressed that she realized that most of his come-ons were in jest and that the best response was to rib him with little mercy before cheerfully teasing him into rejection. Normally, she would have responded with a comeback as was their usual banter but something about an added presence in the room dried up any of her wit.

No, it was specifically just Kougami, her traitorous mind admitted. She pushed away the thought.

“I’ll pass,” she muttered before standing up, already looking for her duffel bag.

“What’s your hurry?” Shuusei drawled. “You worried Gino’s gonna catch you hanging out with us dogs this late?”

“I have work to do tomorrow morning, Shuusei,” she reminded him lightly by falling back on her default excuse.

“Tomorrow’s the weekend,” Kou interjected unexpectedly, casting her a casual glance in that maddeningly off-handed, distant way of his. “You’re still young. You deserve to take a breather every once in a while.”

Akane stiffened, humor gone again as she bristled. She knew the last thing either of them intended was to patronize or undermine her in any manner. But despite her role as their superior, the fact she was still the youngest and most inexperienced in the Division did little to prevent comments like these from rubbing her the wrong way.

“Yeah, listen to Kou! He knows things.” Shuusei slapped the other man on the shoulder in camaraderie. “But aren’t you the hypocrite here for not taking your own advice?”

“I’m your elder. Someone has to be the adult.”

“Bullshit, dude. You’re not even thirty yet. At least put this work away for now and have one drink with us.”

Kougami let out a sigh of surrender, putting out an expression that very much echoed a parent indulging the wishes of children. “All right. But only just the one.”

“Awesome! Akane, pour the man a drink, will you?”

“Aren’t you the host?” she reminded him but complied anyway. She gave the last remaining dregs of their second bottle to Kougami, careful not to make too much contact when she handed him the glass.

“Thanks,” he murmured and she could only nod in reply, not trusting her voice.

Of course as the night waned, in Shuusei’s eyes, one never meant  _just_ the one. Despite her initial reluctance, Akane found herself stuck for another hour as she watched their avatars wrangle onscreen in a fighting video game. Another hour after, it was cards. An hour after that and they were back to drinking. She was glad for Shuusei, with all of his obliviousness and general disinterest towards conflict, often filling in silences between her and Kougami here and there. She was almost beginning to feel grateful for him.

That is, until —

“Truth or dare!”

“Tell me you’re not serious,” Kougami mumbled. His face looked as neutral as ever, but there was a looseness to his shoulders now and a faint flush of red on his cheeks from having downed his fourth that night. “That’s your plan to make this more interesting?”

“Why not? It’s fun. We’ll get a kick out of it,” he defended with a hint of a pout. “Besides, Akane and I play drinking games like this all the time, don’t we?”

She made a little sound that she hoped would pass as affirmation. He seemed to take it because he was already up and ready to grab another bottle from his seemingly never-ending cache.

“Hm. Since you won the bet earlier, Akane, why don’t you start?”

She fidgeted with her near-empty glass and shrugged. “I, uh, don’t know. You start, Shu.”

“Fine by me. Truth or dare.”

“Truth.”

“Let’s start tame,” he said with a wicked curl in his grin before building up slowly for dramatic effect to his next sentence. “Akane … are you a virgin?”

Shuusei’s teasing smile seemed to swallow her vision whole and she felt the flush start from her neck to up her face. She hoped she could blame it on the alcohol but found that excuse too unconvincing.

“Another question,” she flustered. Kougami shifted, giving Shuusei a look that Akane missed in her peripheral.

“What? I thought that was pretty safe for your standards. I mean, there’s no shame in it if you are. Look at Gino. He makes it work.”

“I’m still not answering.”

“It’s truth or dare, Akane, c’mon.”

“Kagari,” Kougami interrupted this time, calm but deadly under the veneer.

“She knows the rules,” Shuusei placated before giving her a smile he probably supposed was encouraging, one she would have cheekily said something about had she been in a better mood.

“C’mon, babe,” he continued when Akane refused to budge. “You’ve confessed to me far crasser things than this.”

“Kagari, stop.” The warning was a little more than apparent now in Kougami’s voice. From her peripheral, she could see his face carefully blank as always but there was a tightness in his mouth and a steel in his eyes that she could only construe as proper irritation.

Akane reddened again, but this time, not from embarrassment. She was just about to tell Shuusei that details of her private matters were no one’s business but hers, but there was something about Kougami’s interjection — no matter how well-meaning he might have been — and the fact that he of all people had to speak up to her defense about this in the first place that sent her already alcohol-addled mind even further down.

Just down enough at least for her to bite out quite heatedly, “No, Shu. I’m not a virgin. Are you satisfied?”

“Oh.”

Shuusei blinked in surprise as if he had witnessed something he wasn’t supposed to see. His eyes flew to Kougami then to Akane’s flushed cheeks and again to Kougami’s unreadable expression, before a harmless grin stretched on his face. “Well, why didn’t you just say so before?”

She wilted then, struck by defeat to muster up anymore frustration at her friend’s obliviousness. She really needed to dial it down a bit. Shuusei didn’t need to get dragged into this.

“You’re hopeless,” she shook her head instead with forced lightness. “And it’s getting late. I hope you have at least a pillow for me if I’m staying here tonight.”

As if she said the magic word, his face lit up before he nodded.

“Got you covered,” he said, leaving the other two alone as he stumbled to his closet for a spare pillow and blanket. Akane kept her eyes to her glass, not daring to look anywhere else.

“I better head out. It’s getting late,” she barely heard Kougami say before he stood up and made for the door. She probably said something in reply but she couldn’t begin to remember what it was.

Shuusei came back just in time to see the other man off. He nodded, seemingly unbothered by Kougami’s rather abrupt decision to go. “See you, man.”

Her glass glinted with the lamp’s reflection and she narrowed her eyes as if the glare was too bright. Her head dropped to her arms, already feeling the migraine that would visit her when she woke up tomorrow.

“So are you really staying or what?” she heard him ask a minute later. “Akane, did you hear me?”

“Move over,” she said quietly before standing up and plopping down next to him on the couch. She curled against the cushion, the buzz slowly leaving her with every second. Shuusei shuffled a bit next to her before he draped the blanket over them both. He closed his eyes. After awhile, she thought he’d gone to sleep until she heard him murmuring drowsily.

“What?”

“I said I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I think you know.”

She took a beat. “It’s okay. I just lost my head for a second.”

“Did something happen between you two?” he murmured as he watched her with half-lidded eyes. Leave it to her to underestimate Kagari Shuusei. Never again.

She shook her head and gave him her best smile.

“No,” she muttered, swallowing the block in her throat as she shut her eyes against the throw pillow. “Not at all.”


End file.
